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intoblossom's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Racism
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Brickmakers is a gritty retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in rural Argentina that circles the deaths of two opposing brickmakers' sons - Marciano Miranda and Pájaro Tamai. It examines the circumstances of their families' feud, cycling the reader through a refracted, episodic retelling of the lives and losses that drove them to their deaths in the dust beneath a Ferris wheel. This is a tight narrative (under 200 pages) that leans heavily on character dialogue, but despite its short page count, its non-linear timeline makes it a challenging story to navigate at times. We see not only Marciano and Pájaro's memories, but also those of their parents, and it's this choice to linger between a more limited third-person narration (which would be expected of death-bed flashbacks) and an omniscient third-person narration that creates additional narrative complexity. I can appreciate that it calls back to its theatrical inspiration (there are so many moments that feel like they are meant to be seen on the stage), though it did pull me out of the story occasionally.
Most unsettling in this retelling is the complete absence of one of our love interests until the final 40-50 pages. We suspect from the start that the inciting incident is related to a potential love affair between Pájaro and Marciano's younger brother, Ángelito, but Ángelito is only tangentially present in a handful of scenes and is only shown through the perspectives of Marciano or Pájaro. In reading other reviews, I would note that readers should not expect an on-page queer romance between these two - their romance is largely off-page, aside from a few frenetic encounters - and is not centered in the narrative. In decentering the romance, Almada emphasizes that the real crux of the story is the generational trauma of toxic masculinity and patriarchal traditions that nurture homophobia, physical and sexual abuse, addiction and more.
This is a tough story to read, and the lack of chapter headings in the English translation of the e-book added to the numerous challenges of the narrative, but it's a story that is richer for its complexity, and I look forward to reading more from Almada.
Most unsettling in this retelling is the complete absence of one of our love interests until the final 40-50 pages. We suspect from the start that the inciting incident is related to a potential love affair between Pájaro and Marciano's younger brother, Ángelito, but Ángelito is only tangentially present in a handful of scenes and is only shown through the perspectives of Marciano or Pájaro. In reading other reviews, I would note that readers should not expect an on-page queer romance between these two - their romance is largely off-page, aside from a few frenetic encounters - and is not centered in the narrative. In decentering the romance, Almada emphasizes that the real crux of the story is the generational trauma of toxic masculinity and patriarchal traditions that nurture homophobia, physical and sexual abuse, addiction and more.
This is a tough story to read, and the lack of chapter headings in the English translation of the e-book added to the numerous challenges of the narrative, but it's a story that is richer for its complexity, and I look forward to reading more from Almada.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Drug use
jamesdaniel's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Hate crime
uhm_kai's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
this was lovely and easy to read, although I kind of wish it was longer so you could get to know the characters a bit better
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
menomica's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Pero la puta madre, cómo chillan las sillas vacías. Cuando esto está lleno, con la música, ni se nota.
Joder cuánto mate había en este libro.
Yo creo que un resumen más apto para este libro que he visto sería que es la historia de dos hombres rivalizando como niños por años y luego pasan ese revalidad a sus hijos.
Creo que el único personaje macho que me gustó de este libro fue Angelito, que se quedaba a lo suyo y simplemente se enamoró de un chico un poco looser.
Todos los hombres de este libro eran algún tipo de cabezón, y creo que eso fue a propósito, como para mostrar como la ignorancia y el machismo causan tantos problemas (creo que todos los problemas que surgieron de este libro fueron a causa del ego de un hombre o múltiples).
Después de todo me ha gustado este libro, aunque a veces me costó entenderlo debido a que tuvo tantos argentinismos, y yo claramente no soy argentino
Un día pienso volver y releer este libro, que seguramente hay muchas cosas que fallé o no capté como debería
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Blood
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Animal death
Minor: Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Animal cruelty
srm's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
treeme's review
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The blurb says too much. Would be a better reading experience knowing less going into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Outing, Sexual content, and Violence
abbie_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Free PR copy received from the publisher!
Another brilliant offering from Selva Almada, Charco Press and translator Annie McDermott. Brickmakers starts out with two young men lying in a deserted fairground, both suffering fatal injuries from a knife fight. As the story progresses, we learn how they got there, which includes a feud between fathers and an illicit love between two young men.
Another brilliant offering from Selva Almada, Charco Press and translator Annie McDermott. Brickmakers starts out with two young men lying in a deserted fairground, both suffering fatal injuries from a knife fight. As the story progresses, we learn how they got there, which includes a feud between fathers and an illicit love between two young men.
.
In a great review for The Art Desk, it’s pointed out what makes Selva Almada such a brilliant writer. She does not need to explicitly state anything in her books. As the reviewer states, ‘words like homophobia, patriarchy and machismo are never used’, yet all of these concepts stand out with startling clarity.
.
At 197 pages, no words are wasted. The chapters are short and punchy, going back and forth between past and present, the fathers’ story and the sons’ story. Both are equally compelling, and Almada shows how cycles of violence and enmity are passed down through father and son.
.
It feels a lot more urgent than the first Almada I read, The Wind That Lays Waste. It’s different, too, to Dead Girls which was creative non-fiction, so not really comparable. The raw, unfiltered reality also reminded me a lot of Hurricane Season, which I also loved. Hurricane Season was actually published after Brickmakers, but we got the English translation of it before this one, but either way, both excellent books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Violence, and Murder
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